Less than 24 hours after being shutout in a 1-0 shootout home defeat to the Rimouski Oceanic, the Herd’s big guns were silenced once again in a 6-2 loss to the Moncton Wildcats before 5,572 fans at the Moncton Coliseum on Sunday afternoon.

“We had a lot of chances but we couldn’t capitalize on enough of them,” said Mooseheads head coach Dominique Ducharme. They had two lucky goals in the second period and in the third we were playing catchup hockey. But, it wasn’t our best game.”

After a scoreless opening frame, the Wildcats answered with three straight goals before Austyn Hardie finally stopped the bleeding for the Mooseheads, who outshot the home squad 49-27. But, the Wildcats responded with two more tallies to dash any hopes of a comeback.

“We pushed. Everything we gave them, they capitalized on their opportunities,” added Ducharme.

For the second straight game, the Mooseheads’ top scorers Jonathan Drouin and Nikolaj Ehlers were held off the scoresheet.

For Ducharme, it wasn’t for lack of opportunity, pointing out that the Mooseheads registered 91 shots over both losses.

“With Ehlers he had nine shots (today), seven of them were dangerous chances, so it’s a matter of finishing. Right now, it might be because he’s over thinking, maybe a little lack of confidence.”

Mooseheads goalie Zachary Fucale struggled between the pipes and was pulled early in the third period after allowing four goals on 20 shots.

Ivan Barbashev and JC Campagna paced the Wildcats with a pair of goals, while Will Smith and Mathieu Olivier rounded out the scoring for Moncton.

Timo Meier responded for the Mooseheads, who fell to 34-18-0-3 and are now tied for fourth spot with the Rimouski Oceanic in leagues standings.

The Mooseheads are back in action on Wednesday at home against the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.